Schools, boards of health create positions to prevent teen suicide

Sunday

Jun 22, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Danielle AmedenDaily News Staff

A smart, loving and free-spirited teen who founded a cross-stitching group called the Old Grannies Club, Karen Douglas was a straight-A student with a bright future.But Douglas also had a "dark side," and struggled with depression and bulimia.After the 18-year-old Newton North High School student tragically took her own life last October in the woods of Natick, where she lived until she was 12, her mother and sister set out to raise awareness about adolescent mental health needs."After losing Karen, we just saw that so many kids needed help," Douglas’ mother Lila McCain said. Her and daughter Sonya’s "Get Real Campaign" aims to end the stigma and get people talking about depression, anxiety and other issues teens are facing.The same issue has taken on a greater urgency for many school districts and communities across MetroWest and the Milford area, especially after a 15-year-old Framingham student’s suicide last month. The latest results of a health survey for students in the region showed one in five high school students were depressed—and the number of kids who had harmed themselves (15 percent) or tried to kill themselves (5 percent) was up.Eileen Davis said the new Call2Talk helpline she runs in Framingham is taking more and more calls every month, including from kids who are feeling low for a variety of reasons."They’re all in that survey, whether it’s relationship issues, school pressure, family issues, honestly some of them are honest about self injury or substance abuse. There’s a lot that we know of about social media bullying that goes on," Davis said.With a new round of grants it issued this month, the MetroWest Health Foundation said its goal is to help area school districts focus on the mental health needs of adolescents.Among the $1.28 million in total grants, the foundation just awarded Framingham and Natick schools money to strengthen their mental health interventions, and four area high schools – Assabet Valley Tech, Blackstone Valley Tech, Lincoln-Sudbury and Milford – money to replicate a model Brookline schools use to help students ease back into the classroom after hospitalizations.Rebecca Donham, the foundation’s senior program officer, said the concern is not only about the safety of students, but how their mental health issues disrupt learning."Schools are really grappling with how do you deal with kids who are, again, not able to be their best academic performers when they are depressed or stressed out," she said.Alison L. Fraser, development specialist at Blackstone Valley Tech, said her school is excited to use its $180,000 grant to create a program like Brookline’s.The school is converting a storage room to use for the new program, shopping for comfortable couches and painting the walls "a calm color," Fraser said. A social worker and teaching assistant will staff the program and negotiate between teachers and the students, who may be coming back after a head injury, a broken leg or a hospital stay for mental health issues."It’s a place to take the pressure off while the students are healing," Fraser said.Blackstone Valley Tech and other schools have noticed a "definite uptick" in the number of students needing to take time off from school to get help with mental health needs, Fraser said."It is a problem that is getting larger and larger that students are really feeling the stress," she said.The old way of sending kids right back to class after a hospitalization was "basically setting them up for failure," Fraser said, comparing it to a revolving door.At Framingham High School, clinical care coordinator Peter DeSimone, whose position is funded by a grant from the MetroWest Health Foundation, helps students transition back to class after hospitalizations.In his role, he has also arranged for six therapists to come after school on a regular basis to give students easy access to counseling appointments."It all comes back to the starting point, which is providing a preventative service," he said.DeSimone said the Framingham schools are greatly concerned about the mental health issues of students, and have held a series of three community forums on the topic.The town of Framingham, meanwhile, just created a social worker position for the Board of Health to confront the community's mental health needs and help in the schools.Framingham High is still reeling after freshman Evlyn Rodriguez’s suicide last month. Students recently gathered to remember her, and signed pledges at lunchtime promising to recognize and respond to warning signs when fellow students need support.At Call2Talk, Davis said she’s aware of other suicides at area schools.She said her call line, 508-532-CALL, and other resources are always available, especially in the summer when students may not have access to school counselors and other help."If we all take some responsibility and help in being informed and knowledgeable about the services that are available and help spread the word on that, even if it addresses the feelings of one young person, it’s all worth it," Davis said.Davis said newer research proves teens are more at risk because the frontal lobe of their brain, which controls impulses and decision-making, isn't fully developed.Lila McCain said the new thinking "really explained what I think was going on with Karen."McCain said the goal of her and daughter Sonya's campaign is to educate people and encourage dialogue about adolescent mental health to help others.Fear about the topic may make parents uncomfortable, but Sonya Douglas, 20, said it's important parents have honest conversations with their children and really listen to what they have to say."We have to say it like it is and face the issues," McCain said.McCain and Douglas plan to attend the Ben Speaks fifth annual "Concert to Remember" at Medway High School on Oct. 4 in memory of Ben Giovangelo, an 18-year-old Medway High School senior who took his life in 2009.The date of the concert happens to be the first anniversary of Karen Douglas’ death.Ben’s mother Judy Giovangelo became a motivational speaker after her son died and has already given 70 talks to students across the country. She said she offers positive psychology tools and tells her audiences, "Suicide is never the answer."Giovangelo said she knows she has made a powerful impact, but she said her work is "just getting started.""There’s just a tremendous amount of kids who are falling through the cracks," she said. "…I think we have a long way to go."Danielle Ameden can be reached at 508-626-4416 or dameden@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @damedenMW.

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